Battle.Net PLAYER

I. What information do we collect, and how long do we keep it?

We collect information from or about you in the following ways:

Information provided by you. Information provided by you when you create or update your account(s); when you are an esports player; while you use our social features and channels to communicate with others; when you use any of our services for purchases or financial transactions such as store purchases, in-game purchases, and/or prize processing; and while you are receiving customer service support.

Information we get or generate from your use of our games or services. We collect data related to: your game play and in-game activity, the services that you use and how you use them, and your devices and activities when you install or access our services.

Information collected from external sources. We may receive information about you and your activities from third parties when you link to external accounts (such as Facebook, PlayStation, XBOX or Twitch) and from advertisers or service providers about your experiences or interactions with them. We might also obtain information from public sites on the internet, such as Twitch, Instagram and YouTube, to mention a few.

We treat all information associated with your account as personal information. Blizzard collects the following categories of data depending on which product(s) or service(s) you are interested in or interacting with. We usually retain data for only as long as necessary to provide you with products, services and an immersive entertainment experience. Exceptions are noted below.

Data Category	Description
ACCOUNT DATA	Player Account Data refers to information that is provided and generated when a player creates his or her account. Most of this data is retained within our secure networks for as long as you play our games and is available to the player by logging into his or her account and can be updated by the player in the account settings section. Examples: Account name, BattleTag, name, email address, preferred language, date of birth, SMS number, home address, shipping address, opt-in detail(s), account links.
CUSTOMER SERVICE	We also use the information we collect while assisting players through our customer support services to investigate and address players' concerns and monitor and improve our services. Information we generate and use to address your concerns are held up to 3 years. Information you submit as part of our authentication process are kept only for a few days. Information related to account restrictions and penalties are kept forever to protect our customers and business. Examples: Issues raised, case history, restrictions history, contact details, contact method.
SOCIAL DATA	Blizzard uses the information we collect from players' actions to enable communications between our players in multiple ways, such as chat, forums and online gaming (e.g., Fireside Gatherings in Hearthstone). Forum content is kept for up to 3 years. Examples: Forum content (version, allocation, locale, time zone, access groups, game accounts, posts), Fireside Gatherings details, chat groups, chat logs.
TRANSACTIONS	We collect transaction details related to the licensing and purchases of our products and services and also the contests and competitions we sponsor. Examples: Order details/history, subscriptions, chargebacks, refunds, gifts, payment detail, shipping details.
ACTIVITY DATA	When a player interacts with our services, we collect server logs. Server logs are retained between 90 days and 1 year, unless they are related to escalation of customer issues, in which case we keep them up to 3 years. Examples: IP address, access dates and times, activity region, activity logs.
DEVICE DATA	We may collect and keep information about the devices used to access our services for as long as you use them. Examples: Hardware models, operating systems and versions, unique device identifiers.
COMMUNICATIONS	Blizzard may use the information we collect from players or partners to communicate with our players about our current and upcoming products, services, promotions, studies, surveys, news, updates and events. Blizzard may also use this information to promote and process contests and sweepstakes, fulfill any related awards, and serve you relevant ads and content about our services. Data gathered for a specific occurrence, such as surveys and giveaways, are held no longer than 90 days. Examples: Name, email address, survey details, purchase/license history, activity history, email activity, Facebook and Twitter handles.
LEGAL RECORDS	We keep records as a support for any actual or anticipated legal matter for up to 7 years. Examples: Case file.
TOURNAMENT/MATCH DATA	Licenses details between Blizzard and tournament organizers. We keep some information for as long as you allow us to and some for up to 2 years for legal and administrative reasons. Examples: Tournament information, tournament organizer details.
GAME DATA	Game data is generated while a player plays our games. We keep records of players' game licenses, progress, history, stats, in-game purchases and interactions with other players for as long as you interact with our games. Examples: Purchased item, unlocks, social, progression.

II. Why do we process your data?

Blizzard collects and uses your data for the following purposes:

Gameplay Experience. Creating the well-designed, highly enjoyable entertainment experiences you can find within our epic games! This includes:

• Progress and History
• Examples of data used:
• GAME DATA: Game stats, match history, quest in progress, etc.
• In-game Social
• Examples of data used:
• GAME DATA: Guild info, in-game email, friends list, etc.
• Unlocks
• Examples of data used:
• GAME DATA: Inventory items: collection of cards, gold, dust, armory, skills, etc.
• Purchased item
• Examples of data used:
• GAME DATA: Items a player has/can purchase(d): portraits, skins, heroes, cards, etc.

Player's Account, Parental Controls and Security. Players of most of our games use a Battle.net account to house assets, communicate with friends and learn about our games and services. Parents of our younger players may set parental controls to monitor and control their children’s gaming. This includes:

• Player's Account
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Name, email address, age, BattleTag
  ACTIVITY DATA: IP address, login information
• Parental Control
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Parental control email, child’s account information

Business optimization and service development. We conduct troubleshooting, research, analysis and product and service development to provide you with the best gameplay experiences and services. This includes:

• Analytics & Data Segmentation
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Blizzard account, country, third parties’ IDs
  ACTIVITY DATA: IP address
  GAME DATA: Related players, chat records
• Training & Development
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Name, phone number, country, home address
  ACTIVITY DATA: IP address
  GAME DATA: Character name
  CUSTOMER SERVICE: Ticket issue description, account notes, Customer Service chat log
• Reporting
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Account region, BattleTag
  ACTIVITY DATA: IP address, preferred language
  TRANSACTIONS: Game consumable licenses

Global Customer Service. We provide you with personalized support to investigate and address any possible difficulty you might experience with our games, your account or your purchases. This includes:

• Customer Service
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: BattleTag, country, language, phone number/SMS number
  ACTIVITY DATA: IP address, region, timestamp
  GAME DATA: Game account, guild name, character name
  CUSTOMER SERVICE: Account notes, chat records and case history
• Forum Moderation
• Examples of data used:
• SOCIAL DATA: Forum posts

Business Operations. We process orders for our products, tournaments and services. This includes:

• Store Purchase
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Email address, BattleTag, country, language, phone number, home address
  ACTIVITY DATA: IP address
  TRANSACTIONS: Invoices, refund details, subscriptions, licenses, payment details
• Events Ticketing
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Email address, BattleTag, name, phone number, home address, phone number

Social Features. We enable communications and experience sharing between our players. This includes:

• Fireside Gathering Event
• Examples of data used:
• SOCIAL DATA: Tavern meetup details
  ACTIVITY DATA: Activity region
• Chat Applications
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: BattleTag
  SOCIAL DATA: About me text, chat records, list of groups you are in
• Forums
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: BattleTag, account name
  GAME DATA: Character name
  SOCIAL DATA: Forum content

Communications with our players. We communicate with our players about products, services, promotions, studies, surveys, news, updates and events. Blizzard may also use the information to promote and process contests and sweepstakes, fulfill any related awards and serve you relevant ads and content about our products and games. Specifically, we use your data for the following marketing purposes:

• Surveys
• Examples of data used:
• COMMUNICATIONS: Age, country, gender, IP address
• Mobile push notifications
• Examples of data used:
• DEVICE DATA: Phone device token
• Analytics & Data Segmentation
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Such as: BattleTag, country, state, postcode or city of residence
  GAME DATA: Related players
  DEVICE DATA: Device ID
  ACTIVITY DATA: IP address
• Ad targeting via “paid media” and “custom audience” (your unencrypted personal data is never shared with third parties without your consent)
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Such as: BattleTag, name, country, state, postcode or city of residence; email address, account region
• Transactional and Marketing campaigns and promotions
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: BattleTag, name, country, state, postcode or city of residence; email address, account region

Unethical Behavior Prevention. One of our core values is: Play Nice; Play Fair. We devote resources to minimize fraud, cheating and abusive behavior. This includes:

• Abuse and Cheat Detection
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Account name, country
  ACTIVITY DATA: IP address, region
  DEVICE DATA: Device ID
  SOCIAL DATA: Related players
  GAME DATA: Chat records
• Account Compromise Prevention
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Account name, country, BattleTag, date of birth, external account IDs
  ACTIVITY DATA: IP address
  DEVICE DATA: Device ID
  TRANSACTIONS: Payment method
• Account Restrictions and Penalties
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Account name, BattleTag
  ACTIVITY DATA: Region
  CUSTOMER SERVICE: Account restrictions history, penalty history, chat records

Legal proceedings and requirements.We may use the information we collect to investigate or address claims or disputes relating to your use of Blizzard’s services or as otherwise allowed or required by applicable law. This includes:

• Litigation or Prelitigation
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Name, home address
  CUSTOMER SERVICE: Account notes
  LEGAL DATA: Case file
• Security Monitoring and Investigations
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Age, name, address, BattleTag, email address, country
  ACTIVITY DATA: IP address
  DEVICE DATA: Device ID
  SOCIAL DATA: Related players
  GAME DATA: Chat records
• Legal Compliance
• Examples of data used:
• ACCOUNT DATA: Age, name

III. Data sharing and disclosure

Some of Blizzard’s products, services and features require that we share information with other users, our partners and service providers, or for legal reasons or in the event of a dispute.

1. With partners and service providers. Blizzard may provide information to its vendors, consultants, marketing partners, research firms and other service providers or business partners. For example, we may provide information to such parties to help facilitate event ticket sales, conduct surveys on our behalf and process payments for our products and/or games.

Third Party Category
Cloud Services
Data Enrichment Services
Disaster Recovery Cloud
E-Commerce Services
Language Translation Services
Partners
Payment Management Services
Research Groups
Security & Authentication Services
Surveys
Ticketing Services
Tracking and Analytics Services
Tracking and Optimization of Advertising
Warehouse & Logistics

2. With other players and/or the general public. Information may be viewable by your friends, people in games, or the public in general if you play our games, use certain features in our games, use certain features on our platforms (such as chat applications in game or on the Battle.net platform) or make posts in the forums.

3. With subsidiaries and affiliates. We share information with our subsidiaries and affiliates to help us provide our services or conduct data processing on our behalf. For example, Blizzard processes and stores information at Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and may store or process data at Blizzard Entertainment SAS in France.

4. For legal reasons or in the event of a dispute. Blizzard may share your information if we believe it is required by applicable law, regulation, operating agreement, legal process or governmental request. This includes sharing your information with law enforcement officials, government authorities or other third parties as necessary to enforce our Terms of Service, user agreements or other policies to protect Blizzard’s rights or property or the rights or property of others, or in the event of a claim or dispute relating to your use of our services.

Data sharing type	Party name	What third party does with data we share?
Data disclosure	Department of Justice	Law enforcement / crime prevention
	Department of Homeland Security	Law enforcement / crime prevention
	FBI	Law enforcement / crime prevention
	Secret Service	Law enforcement / crime prevention
	Immigration and Customs Enforcement	Law enforcement / crime prevention
	NCFTA	Law enforcement / crime prevention
	U.S. Marshals	Law enforcement / crime prevention
	All Local and State law enforcement	Law enforcement / crime prevention

IV. What are tracking technologies, and how are they used?

Blizzard and our partners, such as marketing partners, may use tracking technologies like cookies, beacons, tags and scripts. These technologies are used in analyzing trends, administering the websites, tracking users’ movements around the websites and gathering demographic information about our user base as a whole. We may receive reports based on the use of these technologies by these companies on an individual, as well as an aggregated, basis.

We use cookies for various purposes, including our shopping cart, maintenance of user settings (e.g. language preference) and authentication. Users can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level. If you reject cookies, you may still use our websites, but your ability to use some of the features or areas of our websites may be limited.

We may also use clear gifs in our HTML-based emails to let us know which emails have been opened by recipients. This allows us to gauge the effectiveness of certain communications and the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns. For this reason, these types of clear gifs are tied to personal data.

We, and third parties with whom we partner to provide certain features on our websites or to display advertising based on your web browsing activity, use Local Shared Objects such as Flash cookies and Local Storage such as HTML5 to store content information and preferences. Various browsers may offer their own management tools for removing HTML5.

V. Auto-decision making/profiling

An automated decision is a decision which is made following processing of personal data solely by automatic means, where no humans are involved in the decision-making process. Blizzard does not have any decision-making process regarding an individual without any human involvement.

VI. What level of security is applied to your personal information?

To help protect the privacy of the data and personally identifiable information you provide to us and that we learn from you, we maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards. We update and test our security technology on an ongoing basis. We restrict access to your personal data to our employees. In addition, we train our employees about the importance of confidentiality and maintaining the privacy and security of your information.

VII. Getting a printed version of our data from the attached web links

Some of Blizzard games have detailed person data available to you through a web link. To get a hard copy or printed version of those pages you must: 1) Change the destination to print the page as a PDF, 2) Please click on “More Settings” and then check the boxes for “Header and Footers” and “Background Graphics”, 3) Click “Print” button, 4) Name the file, 5) Print that file at your favorite printer.